Pacquiao. Champion of the monkeys.

Manny Pacquiao. Have you people ever heard of him? I have. And certainly, I have had way too much. I’ve been sick of his eternal media omnipresence since ever and I don’t even know why he’s that popular. He’s not Paris Hilton. He’s not a rockstar (and please, rockstars don’t deserve all the attention they’re getting either). Maybe that’s because he’s a boxing champ.

And?

Should a boxing champ be popular?

I don’t think so. At least, not as popular as he is. Since his last triumph against some foreign boxer, he’s been endorsing different products here and there, from fastfood by the Golden Arches to ice cream to instant karaoke microphones. Does he deserve any of that? No. He’s not good looking. He’s not model-material. Heck, he’s not even buff. He’s an ectomorph for sobbing out loud. So, show me the justice in this:

Seeing this, I wouldn’t be surprised if, in the very immediate future, everyone starts calling him International Jock or whatever.

The Malacañan Palace awarded him an Order of Lakandula and dubbed him Champion For Life. I wonder why he should be called champion outside of the boxing arena. He did not do anything beneficial for this country. He did not risk his neck going to war and fighting for whatever cause towards which the Philippines moves. He did not found any charitable institutions helping the homeless and the hopeless. He did not adopt an orphan from the African continent like Madonna did. Maybe if he wins his next match we’ll see this being circulated by the BSP:

A 5-Peso bill with Pacquiao’s unsightly face on it. Photo courtesy of PCIJ.

So what is this? Apparently, Filipinos worship him not just because he is an excellent athlete. If that were the case, all sports would be in the limelight everytime the national athletic team won something. They worship him because he is good at boxing. After all, the barbaric sport (and I cringe at the fact that I just called it a sport) only involves punches, jabs, and uppercuts. Game planning is absent and all that matters is pure savage. You knock down your opponent and you win. Whoopie. No sweat. Filipinos love that because they won’t have to think either when engaging in boxing themselves or when spectating.

Point to make: Brute force is always preferred to intelligence, and yet Filipinos hate it when foreigners brand them as idiots. Maybe if they did something to raise their literacy levels instead of celebrating when some monkey on TV knocked down his opponent and informing everyone they knew about it even when some people couldn’t care less, it (foreigners calling Filipinos idiots) won’t happen that often anymore.

Filipinos are looking for heroes to look up to. In a land like the Philippines where heroes are scarce, those that triumph in whatever they do are hailed. Geez, Jasmine Trias is technically not Filipino but we took pride that this “Filipino”-American landed 3rd best in American Idol. No wonder a world boxing champ like Paquiao can easily become the nation’s hero.

I think Filipinos recognized Pacquiao as a hero (is there another word for this) because he brought the name of our country in all his triumph. In that case, Philippines have been recognized by other country, but for me it wasn’t that big for them to put Philippines in top of their list, there are still things we should consider before hailing Pacquiao if we really need to be known in every part of the world.

I dislike how the media is hyping him. But I don’t think having a regional accent or an ordinary looking face, as you say, is something that should not be welcome in TV. Majority of Filipinos look and speak the same way. And for all its worth, I appreciate how he’s being turned into a cultural entrepreneur that binds many Filipinos even for a short time.

At some points I have to disagree with you. The media must showcase the stars. After all, that’s what makes people on TV so damn popular and achieve the unreachable status. My point is, I already deal with this sort of people IRL, TV should at least be my escape.

And the bind thing? Unity for a stupid cause/reason is meaningless unity. To me at least.

“At some points I have to disagree with you. The media must showcase the stars. After all, that’s what makes people on TV so damn popular and achieve the unreachable status. My point is, I already deal with this sort of people IRL, TV should at least be my escape.”

FUNKEEforYAH: If he wins many times enough this will most probably happen.

keysi: I saw him again on the evening news tonight. He was asked who between Valero and Barrera he’d like to trade punches with next, and he answered, “Isn’t it possible to be in the ring with them both at the same time?”

I’m like, okay, it’s nice to know what you’re capable of and get smart with people about it. But it’s a totally different thing if you do it with the face of an ugly ugly monkey. There’s a certain amount of English, good looks, and sophistication to pull it off. And he has none of those.

It’s all about marketing and squeezing blood from a liver, considering how emotional pinoys get over something like a tear rolling down from an eye over Juday’s cheek. Not to mention the multitude of Wowowee fans willing to give their life for a glimpse of an ass. It’s just too easy.

[…] But PinoySpy Tabloid was informed by the blogger at PinoyStupid (see his comment below) that he, and not Mysteryosa, was the first to call Manny Pacquiao a monkey, in an article titled “Pacquiao. Champion of the monkeys.” Although the PinoyStupid blogger did not directly call Manny Pacquiao a monkey, his title insinuated that his fans are apes. […]

Geesh! what a stupid question. You won an international boxing title match held in Las Vegas, covered by HBO, shown around the world and you can’t be popular? Sensationalizing is just a plus but even without it, Manny will still be freakin’ super popular. Duh!!

Monkeys. Brown monkeys to be exact, is what colonial american’s called us Filipinos during the early years of american colonial rule. I never thought anyone, or “anything” (yes pinoystupid, this is you) would ever dare call us by that discriminatory term again.

If you are Filipino, this is just so sad, if you aren’t pinoy, then go fuck yourself.

If you just care enough to do a little research, then you’ll find out the monkey you referred to has given back to his kababayans the blessings he has received. He built a church, a school, gave money to charitable institutions, hands out goods to his kababayans at general santos city.

He did me proud. I don’t consider him as a hero per se, but he is a boxing hero, and for showing the world that a Filipino can be a world-class athlete, he made me proud to be one.

You, you sick piece of shit, enjoy your PPC, the ad-clicks dollar you are getting from all these traffic at the expense of someone who has at least done something to make us all proud.

Pacquiao isn’t perfect, heck he may be a bit arrogant, but you are no better than him, you are a leech. You want notoriety to gain traffic and some loose change.

Lolo Tapoyski: There are no stupid questions. Only stupid sensationalist idiots who have no idea how to answer them. I suggest you discover the distinction between should and can. That or go to hell.

a proud “monkey”: Understand how I used monkey in my article. And understand how the concept of loving your own that you and countless brain-dead others are proposing breeds corruption.

We are not talking about charitable institutions here. And even if we were, I’d argue with you that I never saw Mother Teresa as Maxim’s sexiest woman alive. Do you see where I’m leading you? I’m talking about “inappropriate.” Know what it means?

For your Filipinos-can-be-world-class litany, refer to my current post.

Sad to say but I really see your thinking as narrow as Pasig City’s streets… Here are some points you should ponder:

1) Have you ever heard the word ‘inspiration’? Manny’s rags-to-riches story serves as an inspiration to millions of poor Filipinos… His strong determination to succeed, his great work ethics and his humbleness in times of triumph serve as motivation to others that as long as you have the right attitude, success can surely be reached…

2) People get others’ attention if they achieve (or done) something that’s interesting… Paris Hilton is not very well-known until millions had a glimpse of her home-made sex video… Boxing interests Filipinos from the days of Pancho Villa to Elorde to Onyok Velasco… Therefore, it’s no wonder why Manny gets much accolade despite being ‘just a boxer’… I firmly believe that you’re on the same track as Manny (although on the lesser extent) when it comes to popularity because of this write-up… I guess you’re now getting more popular than ever because you’ve written something that got our interests… Kudos to you!

3) Are you trying to say that only ‘good-looking’ should endorse products? To hell with that notion! I don’t know where were you since the day ‘Beauty lies on the eyes of the beholder’ was first concieved… Manny might not be ‘good-looking’ to your standards but it should not be the barometer who should endorse products… I wonder what you are thinking everytime you see a movie/TV personality who was once an STD-stricken woman that keeps on endorsing many products… I bet Manny is more credible than her yet you only persecute the boxer because of his ‘looks’… That’s a very unintelligent assessment…

4) He did not do anything beneficial to the country? Think again… Currently, he is the only person in the Philippines who can stop all crimes from happening for a few hours… He is the only one who temporarily cease skirmishes in Mindanao and NPA-infiltrated areas… Hundreds of people from GenSan received gifts from him even during those times that his income is far lesser than what he’s been earning lately… Yet inspite of these, our country did not benefit anything from him? And you have the guts to compare him to Madonna who after adopting an African orphan, you see Manny as a useless crap compared to a woman had once mocked the Catholic faith? Think again, friend…

5) I guess you have to ask Mr. Webster first what the word ‘sport’ means before you cringe & hide under your bed… Game planning is not involved? Why do you write about something (boxing in particular) if your knowledge on it is too shallow? Boxing doesn’t involve planning? LOL! You’re very wrong, brother… Do some reseach, okay? If you don’t like boxing, show some respect to those who love it, whether purely for entertainment or for using it as a route to escape poverty… Just content yourself with synchronized swimming, I suggest…

6) Wow! Talking about ‘increasing our literacy’ rather than burning our time watching bouts… Looks like you need to increase yours, too… You might be right that we should give more attention on educating ourselves but does watching boxing and admiring Manny hinders it? I don’t see any proper logic on this notion… And for your information, I don’t give a crap if foreigners may tag Filipinos as ‘idiots’… It simply means that most of their foreign engineers, nurses, PTs, teachers, accountants, doctors, etc are ‘idiots’… LOL If you agree with those stupid foreigners, then I pity you because we don’t…

MY POINT IS:
Be very careful when rendering judgement to others because people may find you infected with ‘Crab Mentality’ Syndrome…

MY SUGGESTION:
Do some more research first before making a write-up…

PS I am a Paclander (from mannypacquiao.ph) & my handle there is n2xicated…

Hey, I didn’t know we were doing trashtalk here but here goes: Sad to say but your fanaticism is as deep as Pasig River, however deep that is.

1.) Yes, as a matter of fact, I have. But I regard it, as most intelligent people do, as ESCAPISM. Forget the cruel world and watch the Filipino victory in awe. Besides, that’s the only the Philippines could ever excel in, isn’t it? Throwing punches, as Shari of Misteryosa.org said.

2.) Your interest is not something I ever cared for. An aggregate of a hundred additional hits coming from your forum is highly negligible.

3.) Yes, I guess I am. Let me tell you about how people register on the screen. It doesn’t matter if you are a goddess of infinite beauty IRL. If you don’t look good on TV you shouldn’t be on it.

And if you’re talking about Kris Aquino, she went to the Ateneo. Bash her and bash Ateneo fanatics.

4.) Wow, I see the standards of what is and what is not beneficial to the country have gone down the drain. While I do not discredit the occurrence of these things, I rather think they are mere band-aid solutions. Treat the cause, not the symptoms.

5.) “You should punch him here, not there!” can hardly be considered game planning. I say YOU try and figure out how brain-active sports work and take a good hard look at boxing.

6.) Increase my literacy on what? Boxing? Please, I do not have the luxury of wasting my time on trivial things. Knowledge of pretty useless trivia will get you and your country nowhere.

You have to give a shit when they say, collectively, that Filipinos are, mostly, idiots. Because it’s true. I know you may not agree with me on this, but please, just take a look around and really try to find out what causes the Philippines to be in such a sorry state.

Any road, that’s all you can say, right? If someone says something about your IDOL that you don’t like, you say, “Oh, he’s probably just jealous.” Please, I need mature comments here. Comments from a 19-year old Computer Engineering student with a rotten appendix, who doesn’t know anything about life other than ride the jitney to school and back ARE NOT WELCOME AT ALL.

And I am a rich bastard who knows exactly what you look like and can sue you for verbal harassment.

Interestingly, I still don’t see any maturity in calling someone gay. Surgery did something to your head? Highly unlikely, you are a boxing fan after all. You must have been that stupid way before the appendicitis. Plus you don’t go to a decent college. So really, what was I expecting?

I just found this blog so my comments are a bit late – the first thing I want to say is – GREAT SITE! I like Manny Pacquiao and I think he’s a great boxer but I can’t believe how stupid Pinoys are over him. I heard there was even talk of him running for elected office. Even as a joke, it shows how stupid the culture is. I’m married to a an exPinay so I get a lot of exposure to what you talk about here. Anyway, keep up the good work – you will NEVER run out of material.

i understand yer point. there are many MORE people who deserve being called a hero rather than that that that pacquiao (weid name too btw).heck! there’s this kid who saved his brother in the albay mudslide but the media gives it 2 seconds and that kid is BETTER than manny pacquiao. there are also those who are still in the area doing search and rescue and NOTHING is heard about them. why all the f*** king fanaticism over pacquiao? now, that he’s a hero, do we want our kids to emulate him and all try to be the school bully? heck! dang! i like this site!

More than two months since I wrote the article and Pacquiao is still bugging me and 80 million others on TV. What the heck do I care about all the little things he does? Things this trivial shouldn’t be making the 6 o’clock news!

blame it on the moronic media we have here ! i wonder how much that moronic parade and that rather quaint hero-statue for that chimp cost? the money could have been put into better use! but nah.. they just got to desperately make him a hero.. they could have gotten a cheaper one at the zoo!

When I heard that there was almost no crime during Manny’s fights I couldn’t help but remember the origins of “Fat Tuesday” and Mardi Gras in New Orleans when Catholics would engage in all sorts of immoral and illegal acts before and after Lent. It’s like “it’s ok to be evil the rest of your life as long as your good during Holy Week” or it’s ok to be bad because you can always make it up during confession.

i don’t like pacman either, especially after trying to run as a congressman in the recently held elections. why doesn’t he stay in boxing where he can actually do something instead of getting stumped in legislation?

and he goes into ventures that doesn’t really suit him, like singing or politics. it embarasses me whenever they play his songs on his entrance towards the ring everytime he has a match. no wonder people of other countries call us idiots; they think that we filipinos are actually that stupid to enjoy his songs.

actually, I am ashamed to admit that I’ll have to agree with some of the points that you have raised. 1) manny is an ectomorph (although he is kinda short to be purely one). 2) awarding him the order of lakandula, the highest honor that can be given to a person in the philippines, for winning a boxing match is absolutely ridiculous. 3) he may have funded some charities, but most of his money was wasted on his personal luxuries and his bid to become the representative of south cotabato in congress. that’s totally bullcrap.

you are right, he is a very inappropiate commercial model. out of place is the right word for him. and yet companies gather around him wanting to get his endorsement on their products. dark is the hour when pacqiuao starts to endorse lipstick and sanitary napkins.

however, the reason why pacman is chosen as an endorser in advertisments is not because of good looking or appropiateness for that kind of commercial, but in his effectivity in tapping the viewing masses’ palate, no matter how much it makes the consumers look gullible. he sells. period. that is a factor in choosing someone who can effectively endorse your product. let’s take your case for example. you like good-looking, ‘respectable’ and appropiately-clad people to endorse products, and that factor makes you want to buy that product. the companies take note of that by doing feasibility studies for your kind of consumer market, if that is what kind of market they would like to target. depending on what kind of taste you, the consumer, have, they will hire an appropiate endorser for you (appropiate, in the sense that he will be effective in selling their products to the target consumer). that kind of delibiration is what chose manny as an endorser for a lot of products. notice the kinds of stuff he tries to sell? stuff that the masses, the ‘gullible monkeys’, would actually buy. but, monkeys as we are to you, this strategy sells, regardless of superficial inappropiateness, much like how most of the american companies disregard good moral values with their endorsers in media just to sell their products (i.e. your precious paris).

I am not trying to make any kind of rebuttal; after all, it is your opinion that manny is inappropiate for the commercials he stars in. I only stated the facts in the hope that you may understand why he was chosen. and to say that you should know why it is so before bashing someone.

now, to the monkeys term. please, please do not call us all monkeys just because we glorify an over-hyped boxing champion. you may be right in saying that we don’t like being called idiots and yet we clamor in the brutality of the sport which is boxing as if it was the elixir of life. however, if you have been looking at the state of our country, even a second of national unity is as precious as gold. call it patching up the symptoms. but for us, it is a gesture of hope. hoping that someday we filipinos will rise up above the discriminating line of the term ‘monkeys’ which the foreigners have drawn above our heads. we hope. even if it is a false hope, a fool’s hope. manny helps, it has already been said, yet you besmirch his name and the help that he has done. what kind of god-given authority gives you the cheek to befoul him? I am not against the freedom of speech and opinion, but I say that this is NOT it. this is a form of oppression against the filipino race, even if it is of small in impact. and that is truth, unlike your self-deduced opinions. even your idea of what defines an idiot is a result of colonial mentality (i.e. comparing the morally-decayed paris hilton and madge against manny). well then, if that is what you see, then so be it. we monkeys will wallow in this hellhole that you so choose to insult. but we will still hope in change, whatever form that hope may take, even if it is in manny’s unsightly visage.

btw, if you haven’t noticed, the philippines have the highest literacy rate in asia. it may not be a learned kind of literacy, but it sure makes the koreans and chinese flock to our country in order for them to learn english. even the americans are coming back in the form of call centers. so please, don’t say that we haven’t been doing anything to increase our literacy. you yourself, if you are a filipino, can give testament to that with this blog of yours. hits, comments (orcish as some of them may sound) and even the ability to read your posts can only be done by someone who is at least literate enough to access the internet.

last but not the least, calling us filipinos idiots because of the fact that we worship manny because of his ability in boxing is a complete waste of neurons. we glorify him because he, like so many others that are struggling abroad as OFWs, brings in revenue in the form of taxes, which is so much in amount that he actually brings the peso value up with every prize money earning he brings back here. and that, my friend, is something that is praiseworthy. again, not his boxing ability, but the money that he brings in. no one else can do that single-handedly in any form of currency.

i agree with most of your points. especially giving him the lakandula. aside from that, i don’t think its his fault that the filipinos worship him and make him out as some god. the lower class needs to have inspiration. at least they learn to work hard for something instead of stealing things other people worked hard for.

one thing i really don’t like is the fact that he ran for congressman. eh? a boxer.. a poor man from GenSan who doesn’t know a thing about politics is running for office? bullcrap.

but if the filipinos agree that he’s a “champion” then so be it. i’d rather not conform to the ideologies of the masses. i do have a brain and i opt to use it instead of joining ridiculous trends.

as for the monkey thing, i’d rather not generalize. jeepney drivers are mostly the kind of people i hate in this country. and the usual kidnapper, holdapper, etc. other than that, it’s a rich country that has lots of potential. if only the people, specially the government, would work hard to make this country rise above the ashes.

god, are you from UP med? lol i kind of figured out that a lot of your points are related to med talk. anyway, kudos and i hope you’d resume writing in this thing.

to the next commenters: this is just an opinion. i do not want to start a flame war yet again.

I’m not from UP Med. 🙂 But I went to UP at Diliman for my bachelor’s degree. For now I just like observing, performing social deconstruction on every social phenomenon imaginable.

Can you tell me in particular which among the points I raised made me seem like I was from UP Med? 🙂 I’m just curious. My intelligence seems to be all over the place. Jack of all trades, master of none. 🙂

Don’t be mean to others just because You are envious. You dont have the right, because you have never been in his shoes. You dont know how was it being POOR, and working hard to rise above and be on top.

Your Parents.. thought you trash. You are the REAL Monkey here… YOU and YOUR PARENTS… are Monkeys. Just go away and get some Bananas.

I’m truly educated not like you…
(UP MS Math and MS Computer Science)
You learned nothing good from School
(You wasted money)
Someone should have been send to school other than You. Someone who can work hard and yet be humble, and not trash talk others.

Try to look at yourself and see how much of an APE you have been..
Dont be Stupid to keep following your PRIMATE PARENTS…

pinoystupid: Quoting from your “Filipinos are Insecure Bastards from the Jungle” blog, “I see things as they are. I don’t get all inspirational. I don’t get all escapist. I am cynical and I am realistic (December 1, 2006)”. Then now in your “Pacquiao. Champion of the monkeys,” “My point is, I already deal with this sort of people IRL, TV should at least be my escape”.

People, do you see the irony here?

These are my points:
1. I totally agree with what you’ve said that most Filipinos (UNTIL NOW) are overglorifying (if there is such a term) Pacquiao because he is great at boxing. I know this hype is stupid and it makes Filipinos more stupid and gullible as ever.

2. BUT, criticizing Pacquiao, despite his talents (and I do consider his talents and abilities), according to “trivial” matters like looks, accent is way over the top. If you are getting conscious of this stupid media hype, fine go and criticize it but not Pacquiao himself. That is just crossing the borderline. SURE, everyone thinks he is NOT good-looking, that he is JUST a highschool graduate BUT those are not credentials for most Filipinos. BUT you don’t need to use it just to insult HIM or HIS fans. Like I said, it’s crossing the border. Unless if you are an illegal immigrant.

3. Are you Filipino? Oh yes, I forgot your lovely comment on your “Filipinos are Insecure Bastards From The Jungle” (I’m too lazy to quote right now). Although I understand where you are coming from, name-callings are a BIG TURN-OFF in defining your blog as intellectual and interesting. It sounds like you want ALL Filipinos to get your point-of-view or your intention of making this blogs.

4. This is the mistake you’ve obviously overlooked, and IGNORED everytime readers bring it up. “Hasty Generalization.” By calling all Filipinos = Pacquiao Fans, Pacquiao Fans = Stupid, thus Filipinos = indeed stupid, does NOT any in way validate you as contributing to the problem of our society. Or if I might interpret your name-callings + hasty generalizations, this might be your accurate, mathematical equations.

5. If you want people to respect your opinions, whether be it contradicting or supporting the masses’ thinking or feeling over a particular issue or person (e.g. Manny Pacquiao), please refrain from using terms like “monkeys”. Although I respect your bluntness, this is not a mature way of speaking your mind either. If “sugarcoating” is not right, then what you’re typing is on the other end of the spectrum. Like they say, “Be nice YET firm and solid.” Wouldn’t that be hard mister.

I hope you learn your mistakes about “blogging”, because in one way or another, people will always venture to your blog so EXPECT all your blogs should be, at least, proper and respectful. If you really treat this blog as a form of release, then better write them in private.